Express : SPY 'MAY HAVE KNOWN HIS KILLER'

SPY 'MAY HAVE KNOWN HIS KILLER'

August 26, 2010

The private life of a British code breaker found dead in his flat is being investigated amid speculation that he could have died during a sex game gone wrong.

Detectives investigating the murder of Gareth Williams are looking into the possibility that he lived a double life and may have known his killer.

A report in The Times on Friday claims that bondage gear and equipment associated with sado-masochism were removed from the 30-year-old's London apartment by police looking for clues.

The GCHQ mathematics prodigy's decomposing body was found stuffed into a bag in the bath of his central London Government flat on Monday, but the mystery over his final hours deepened after a post-mortem examination failed to identify a cause of death. Further tests will determine if the cycling fanatic was asphyxiated or poisoned, as well as if drugs or alcohol were present in his system.

A pathologist found Mr Williams was not stabbed or shot and there were no obvious signs of strangulation. Police refused to categorise the death as a murder, despite the bizarre circumstances, as they insist he may have died innocently.

One line of inquiry is that he is the victim of a sex game that went wrong and questions remain over why he was not discovered sooner.

Mr Williams was days from completing a one-year secondment to the headquarters of MI6 from his job at national "listening post" GCHQ in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Police believe Mr Williams's body could have lain undiscovered for up to a fortnight and it is thought he was on holiday at the time of his death. They suspect the key to the case could lie in his private life and are examining his mobile phone and financial records as well as CCTV cameras around his home.

Sources played down speculation that the murder was linked to his secretive line of work. Investigators suspect Mr Williams might have known his killer as there was no sign of forced entry at his top-floor flat in smart Alderney Street, Pimlico.

On Thursrday, Mr Williams's parents Ian and Ellen travelled to London with his sister Ceri from their home in Anglesey to speak to police and formally identify his body.